Senior Underwriter

Description

The Senior Underwriter is a hands-on credit professional responsible for originating-support, independent underwriting, and portfolio risk management across three core lending verticals: (1) High-Net-Worth (HNW) lending (including unsecured personal lines), (2) Commercial Real Estate (CRE: bridge/transitional, stabilized, and construction light), and (3) Commercial & Industrial (C&I: rediscount lines, owner-occupied, asset-based and cash-flow lending). The role produces timely, high-quality credit analyses and credit memos, structures bank-safe terms and covenants, and partners with Relationship Managers (RMs), Credit Admin, and Loan Operations to seamlessly close loans and manage ongoing loan portfolio risk.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

1) Hnw / Private Client Lending

• Underwrite unsecured and partially secured HNW credit (e.g., Premier lines, term loans), using global cash-flow, liquidity, asset composition, and contingent liability analysis.
• Evaluate and document “abundance-of-caution” pledges (e.g., real estate, marketable securities, life insurance, art/collectibles) for incremental support, perfection practicality, and liquidation pathways while preserving the contractual “unsecured” posture.
• Build tailored structures (limits, amortization, covenants, borrowing bases if applicable), with stress testing (rate shocks, market value haircuts, income variability).
• Coordinate with rest of bank for relationship profitability, cross-sell, and quarterly relationship reviews.

2) Cre Underwriting

• Underwrite for bridge/transitional, stabilized income-producing, and select renovation loans: sizing, DSCR analysis, LTV/LTC, exit feasibility, and sponsor track record.
• Assess rent rolls, leases, operating statements, and borrower business plans; build pro-forma and stress test cases with sensitivity tables (rents, cap rates, vacancy).
• Direct third-party due diligence: appraisals, environmental, property condition, legal/zoning, and lease reviews; reconcile variances and translate to terms/covenants.
• Recommend recourse, guarantor support, and covenants (DSCR, LTV, Re-margin, liquidity and net worth) consistent with policy and current market risk.

3) C&I Underwriting

• Underwrite owner-occupied and operating-company credits using complete analysis of borrower and its operations, sales, margins, profitability, cash flow, and debt service coverage, working-capital cycles, collateral (A/R, inventory, M&E, RE), and management depth.
• Structure lines/term loans considering working capital gap analysis, borrowing-base mechanics, standard covenants, and monitoring (BBC cadence, field exams, appraisals).
• This business line also includes rediscount lending and lender finance. Such lending and underwriting requires a deep knowledge of structuring, eligibility requirements, assessing appropriate advance rates and 
• Evaluate customer concentration, supplier risk, contingent liabilities of guarantor, and industry cyclicality; document mitigants and exception rationales when appropriate.

4) Credit Process, Governance & Documentation

• Produce excellent credit memos that articulate complete financial analysis of the business, 3 sources of repayment, key and unique risks/mitigants, collateral, structure, covenants, and conditions to close.
• Present to internal credit committees; obtain required approvals within delegated authorities and escalate as needed.
• Ensure loan documentation reflects approved terms; coordinate from time to time with counsel on notes, guarantees, UCCs, assignments, and any pledge documents (even when AoC).
• Maintain alignment with applicable policy, OCC guidance, Reg B/equal credit considerations, and fair lending/UDAP expectations.
• Drive accurate and consistent risk ratings, concentration segment coding, and ticklers at origination and post-close.

5) Portfolio Management & Early Warning

• Responsible for periodic financial/borrowing-base reporting, covenant compliance, collateral valuations, and guarantor liquidity monitoring.
• Accountable for annual reviews and interim risk refreshes for all of assigned lending relationships; recommend rating changes and strategies (retain, restructure, exit).
• Proactively identify early-warning indicators (payment behavior, covenant drift, cash-flow erosion, tenancy rollover, macro stress) and propose timely actions.
• Support remedial asset management, action plans, and workout strategies where needed.

6) Partnering, Leadership & Continuous Improvement

• Serve as a thought partner to RMs on structures, pricing, and risk mitigation factors that protect the bank’s downside while remaining competitive.
• Mentor junior analysts; review and elevate their work to “board-ready” quality.
• Contribute to policy, underwriting guidelines, and model enhancements (e.g., stress protocols, covenants, concentration limits).
• Support data integrity and reporting (loan tapes, MIS, concentration dashboards) and help close examination or audit findings.

Requirements

Experience & Education

• 5+ years in progressive commercial credit underwriting and portfolio management at a community or regional bank; direct underwriting responsibility across HNW, CRE, and C&I.
• Bachelor’s in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related

Technical & Analytical

• Mastery of cash-flow underwriting (personal/global and business), DSCR/LTV/LTC, borrowing-base structure, guarantor analysis, and sensitivity/stress testing.
• Fluency with appraisal and environmental reports; able to reconcile to internal views and policy.
• Strong Excel (pivot tables, LOOKUPs, scenario/sensitivity models) and Office 365 Suite experience. Experience with Abrigo or similar LOS a plus; Python for automating analytics is a plus.
• Preferred: familiarity with core banking systems (e.g., Fiserv) and loan ops workflows.

Regulatory & Policy

• Working knowledge of OCC credit risk expectations for CRE and commercial lending; comfort operating within Board-approved policies, underwriting standards, and concentration limits.
• Understanding of fair lending/Reg B considerations and consistent, defensible exception management.

Competencies

• Crisp credit writing; executive-level presentation skills.
• Sound judgment and bias for prudent action; calm under deadline pressure.
• Collaborative, candid, and coach-minded; elevates team standards and pace.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Cycle time from package receipt to credit approval and to close (by product type).
• Credit memo quality (rework rate, committee questions, audit/exam feedback).
• Portfolio health (risk rating migration, covenant compliance, criticized/classified levels).
• Policy/limit adherence (including concentrations and approval authorities).
• RM/internal partner satisfaction and win rate on targeted deals at risk-appropriate pricing.

Work Arrangement

• Primary workplace in either Stamford, CT or Southern California.  Our company values in-person work environments for efficiencies, learning, apprenticeship and collaboration. In-person participation in credit committee, closings, and portfolio reviews; travel not required